AT&T has outraced NASCAR, in court at least. A federal judge ruled today that NASCAR can’t prevent AT&T from featuring its logo on Jeff Burton’s No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.
U.S. District Judge Marvin Shoob in Atlanta issued a preliminary injunction barring NASCAR and any entity affiliated with it from interfering with AT&T’s rights as primary sponsor of the car in NASCAR Cup Series races, according to published reports.
You may recall in March AT&T, sued NASCAR because racing group wouldn’t let the telecommunications vendor change the logo on Jeff Burton’s race car. The issue centered around Burton’s No. 31 car, which his sponsored by cell phone service provider Cingular. AT&T recently took ownership of Cingular as part of its recent merger with BellSouth and is eliminating the brand name. At the time AT&T said NASCAR’s refusal to allow it inhibits the company’s ability to “attract new customers and retain existing ones.” Sprint Nextel sponsors NASCAR’s Nextel Cup and has exclusive rights for the series. Attorneys argued the only exceptions are companies, including Cingular, that already sponsored cars when Nextel reached its agreement with NASCAR.
